COMMENTS

Not normally one to defend Apple but....isn't this more about a batch of bad batteries rather than apple devices. All batteries are prone to this defect, no matter the device brand. A quick skim of the internet reveals that Lenovo, Dell, and HP have had issues in some parts of the world with a battery order.

Re: True it's about batteries, but...

Wrong. Read the article. The batteries in question that were sold at Best Buy were third party batteries----not the batteries that Apple uses as replacements. If you ordered a battery from Apple or went into an Apple Store to have a Macbook Pro battery replaced you will not have this problem.

Re: Not MacBook Pros, not Apple batteries.

The trouble is that people pay what they think is a good price but don't actually know how to value the product. They see a new battery from the item manufacturer for (say) £80 and then another name one for £40. But they think about the short term cost - walking out of the shop £40 more down on the deal and not the possible consequences or that over a year of use that extra £40 is about 10p a day. Without knowing how likely the cheaper battery is to fail or the quality of the warranty on the expensive one how can they evaluate the risk.

Not that I'm a fan of expensive batteries. A well-known supplier of Dell parts quoted me for a Raid card battery this week. My initial thoughts were "50 for a battery" and "how much delivery". An online supplier has the same - and Dell branded - for about £25 on their website. Tempting but with the former I can have more faith in getting the right part first time.

Apple will replace the battery on newer Macbooks for you and a whole load of 3rd party companies could if you did not want to go the official route. Personally (for the reason) I'd rather stick with genuine batteries / parts even if the cost is slightly higher.

Eadon Angle

Cheap China junk sucks. If you do want to buy it then best to buy it direct for what it is worth.

(The likelihood of getting something good cheap is so low it is not worth bothering at all).

It is very problematic when getting stuff for older devices because due to the amount of counterfeiting you will probably get the same fake regardless of cost. (As it is not even stocked by the legit places).

wtf

(Sub-ed; "Reg enjoys playing with fire in more ways than one because if Apple reads your headline you're f*cked every which way from Sunday for implying that their products are fallible when they're in fact manufactured by sacred eunuchs on the shore of Mount Cupertino, and forged from the tears of virgins")

"Affected customers will receive a replacement official Apple-branded battery or a $50 Best Buy gift card."

Who would take the Best Buy gift card? Even if you didn't need the battery, you could sell the batter on eBay for more than $50 and then you have that money to spend anywhere rather than just Best Buy. Obviously Best Buy wants people to take the $50 gift card as it costs them less and they know you will be back.